“The version I’ll tell is controversial, but the most accurate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has envisioned a return of Russia to superpower status. In order for the now re-energized nation to do this, it must win influence within, and expand, its existing sphere of influence. Putin, a former KGB officer, has even been on record despairing over the loss of the Soviet Union.
But the growth of Russia’s sphere of influence is limited, at the time being. Russia has virtual control over the central Asian nations, but is territorially checked to the south by India, to the Southeast by China, and to the west by both NATO and the EU. If you remember the 2008 South Ossetia War between Russia and Georgia, you may remember the cause of the conflict: Russia’s…